Olga Havnen facts for kids
Olga Havnen is an important Aboriginal leader and activist from Australia's Northern Territory. She is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the Danila Dilba Health Service in Darwin. This is a special health service run by and for Aboriginal people.
Early Life and Family
Olga Havnen belongs to the Western Arrernte people. She grew up in a place called Tennant Creek. Her great-grandfather, Ah Hong, was a Chinese cook who helped build the Overland Telegraph Line. Her great-grandmother, Ranijika, was a Western Arrernte woman.
Their daughter, Gloria, was Olga's grandmother. Gloria was the first Aboriginal woman to own her own house in Alice Springs. Olga's father was a sailor from Norway. Her mother, Pegg, lived in Tennant Creek. Olga went to a boarding school in Townsville, Queensland.
Working for Her Community
Olga Havnen has worked in many important roles to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She helped lead programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at the Australian Red Cross. She also worked as a Senior Policy Officer for the Northern Territory Government. This job involved helping to create rules and plans for Indigenous people.
She was also the Indigenous Programs Director for the Fred Hollows Foundation. This group works to prevent blindness. Olga also served as an Executive Officer with the National Indigenous Working Group.
From 2011 to 2012, Olga was the Coordinator General of Remote Service Provision. In this role, she looked at how well services were provided to remote communities in the Northern Territory. She wrote a report that showed where these services needed to be better.
Today, Olga is the Chief Executive Officer of the Danila Dilba Health Service in Darwin. This health service is run by Aboriginal people for their own communities.
Olga also spoke at the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. She shared her views on how important it is for the government to support Aboriginal communities. She believes that the Australian federal government has a key role in helping the Northern Territory.
